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44 BCE
First Autopsy
The first recorded autopsy occurs when Antistius examines Julius Caesar's body after his assassination, determining which of the 23 stab wounds proved fatal. -
1247
T'zu's The Washing Away of Wrongs
the oldest extant book on forensic medicine in the world. -
First Physical Evidence
The first recorded physical evidence used to prove a guilty criminal, was a piece of torn newspaper in 1784. The newspaper was attached to the crime's weapon, a pistol, and the murderer, John Toms, had the same newspaper in his pocket. -
Marsh Test
A highly sensitive method in the detection of arsenic, especially useful in the field of forensic toxicology when arsenic was used as a poison. It was developed by the chemist James Marsh. -
7 Elements of Pathological Anatomy
Samuel Gross published 7 elements which has been considered by some as the first textbook of pathology in America -
First Photo Identification
San Francisco uses photography for criminal identification, the first city in the US to do so. -
Fingerprinting Discovered to be Unique
In 1880, Henry Faulds published a paper in 'Nature' magazine on fingerprints, observing that they could be used to catch criminals and suggesting how this could be done. -
Identification System Developed
Alphonese Bertillon designed a system of identification based on a series of nine anthropometric measurements, each broken down into three categories (small, average, and large). -
Coroner's Act Established
Coroner's act established that coroners' were to determine the causes of sudden, violent, and unnatural deaths. -
First Use of Fingerprints
Juan Vucetich, an Argentine chief police officer, created the first method of recording the fingerprints of individuals on file -
Dactyloscopy Developed
Juan Vucetic devised a useable system to group and classify fingerprints, which he called dactyloscopy. Vucetich demonstrated the utility of fingerprint evidence in an 1892 case, which resulted in the identification and conviction of a suspect for first-degree murder. -
Investigations into Blood Markers
Karl Landsteiner discovered when different people's blood was mixed, the blood cells sometimes clotted. He explained in 1901 that people have different types of blood cells, that is, there are different blood groups. -
University of Lausanne Established
Archibald Reiss was the founder of the first academic forensic science programme and of the "Institut de police scientifique" (Institute of forensic science) at the University of Lausanne. -
Hair Introduced to Forensics
Victor Balthazard and Marcelle Lambert publish first study on hair, including microscopic studies from most animals. -
Guns are Unique
Victor Balthazard asserted that machine tools used to make gun barrels never leave exactly the same markings. After studying images of gun barrels and bullets, he reasoned that every gun barrel leaves a signature set of etched grooves on each bullet fired through it. -
Prototype Polygraph Produced
John Augustus Larson invented the cardio-pneumo psychogram in 1921, a device that monitored systolic blood pressure and breathing depth, and recorded it on smoke-blackened paper. -
First Crime Lab
Using Locard's principles, Los Angeles, California, police chief August Vollmer (1875–1955) established one of the first modern crime laboratories in the United States. -
FBI Laboratory Established
Under the lead of James Edgar Hoover, the Bureau established a criminology library and began collecting and publishing uniformed crime statistics, a task previously assigned to the International Association of Chiefs of Police. -
Voice Recording Becomes Evidence
A sound spectrograph discovered to be able to record voices. Voiceprints began to be used in investigations and as court evidence from recordings of phones, answering machines, or tape recorders. -
NCIC Established
launched at FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC in 1967, and was the brainchild of the legendary J. Edgar Hoover. -
SEM Developed
Scanning Electron Microscopy for the analysis of inorganic gunshot residues (IGSRs) was introduced by the Aerospace Corporation -
Genetic Fingerprinting Developed
Alec Jeffreys discovered the technique of genetic fingerprinting in a laboratory in the Department of Genetics at the University of Leicester. -
First DNA Conviction
Tommie Lee Andrews became the first American ever convicted in a case that utilized DNA evidence. DNA samples of semen retrieved from the crime scene matched blood drawn from Andrews. -
DNA Evidence is Deemed Reliable
National Academy of Sciences developed a new combination of formulas to calculate the likelihood that a DNA match between evidence and a suspect could be explained by mere coincidence. -
AFISO Developed
Automated Fingerprint Identification System Operation developed in Canada by Canadian Royal Mounted Police -
IAFIS Developed
The Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System is a national, computerized system for storing, comparing, and exchanging fingerprint data in a digital format permits comparisons of fingerprints in a faster and more accurate manner. -
Footwear Detection System
Britain's Forensic Science Service develops online footwear coding and detection system. This helps police to identify footwear marks quickly. -
Latent Fingerprint Corrosion of Metallic Surfaces Discovered
Forensic scientists at the University of Leicester discovered fingerprints leave a slight corrosion on metal, which they can use electric charge and powder to get a residual fingerprint. -
4-Second Dental Match
The Japanese make a system that can automatically match dental x-rays in a database, and makes a positive match in less than 4 seconds. -
Technology to Identify Mugshots from Sketches Developed
Anil Jain and doctoral student Brendan Klare has developed a set of algorithms and created software that will automatically match hand-drawn facial sketches to mug shots that are stored in law enforcement databases. -
US Government launched Forensic Commission
The establishment of a National Commission on Forensic Science as part of a new initiative to strengthen and enhance the practice of forensic science. -
Rapid DNA Act of 2017
FBI granted permission to use rapid DNA identification to identify perpetrators through automated DNA identification machines made by ANDE.
